This Wednesday our LIVE show features Chef Matt Steigerwald of the Lincoln Cafe in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.  Many folks believe Matt has the best restaurant in the state.  I would not miss this one-in the Club Room at Hy-Vee, 7:00 pm sharp.

Claudia Mueller, publisher of The Iowa Source, will be there, along with Nina Benjamin, who wrote an article about Matt for the Source's March issue.

Kicking off the show is Emily Rose Shaw presenting part 2 of her "Ode to Spring Greens."  I almost forgot to mention that Matt's making Harissa cauliflower with local greens, as a nod to Emily's presentation, and a Charred eggplant falafel with goat cheese lemon yoghurt.

Live at Hy-Vee on Wednesday at 7:00 pm it's Italian food, fun, and family as we welcome SOFIA, the Society of Fairfield Italian Americans, to the show.  SOFIA members will share stories and treasured family recipes, plus they will prepare several dishes-farinata, minestra, fresh-baked Italian bread, and fried peppers Calabrese-style.  Join us in the Club Room for a celebration of Italian life.  Also, Emily Rose Shaw kicks off her new weekly health and nutrition segment with helpful information and tips on how to feel your best.

On the KRUU stream at 7:00 pm Wednesday is our show from last week.  That was a 60-minute non-stop food happening.  Emily Rose Shaw started the hour with an introduction to her upcoming weekly health and nutrition appetizer segment.  She was followed by the queen of eating healthy and delicious on a food stamp budget, Linda Watson.  Jan Swinton provided the latest triumphs on the local food scene.  Joy Salmon introduced us to cornbread three ways.  Jeffrey Smith put in perspective how Whole Foods decision to label GMO's will play out in the rest of the food industry. And, chef Vanessa Allen prepared guacamole, slaw, and salsa to go along with her blackened fish tacos.  Whew!  Have fun listening.

Get your fill of GREAT TASTE two ways on Wednesday.  Live at the Hy-Vee Club Room it's a star-studded cast of characters-Holistic Nutrition Coach Emily Rose Shaw, Chef Vanessa Allen, GMO expert Jeffrey Smith, and cornbread maker Joy Salmon with Cook for Good's Linda Watson via Skype. 

On the KRUU stream we're featuring "the knife guy" Jeffrey Elliot, and the Indian Hills Culinary Crew.  Jeffrey's career path to becoming a chef was fascinating, and after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America he worked in some of America's top kitchens.  He'll take the confusion and mystique out of choosing the right knives, and clue you in on what knives you actually need to make life a breeze in the kitchen.  Jeffrey is the author of the Zwilling J. A. Henckels Complete Book of Knife Skills:  The Essential Guide to Use, Techniques and Care.  The Henckels Professional Series knives are used in the Great Taste kitchen.

From knives we transitioned to pasta with Kellie Vetter making a gluten

-free ravioli that was filled with marinated artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, ricotta, and parmigiano.  She served it with a butter and sage sauce.  Also, Kellie cranked out fettuccine and with the aid of Shannell Wallace and her two assistants, served that two ways-one plate with a simple red sauce, and the other featuring a cilantro pesto.  I'll post the recipes in the next few days, but if you listen closely the steps are all revealed during the broadcast.

The Great Taste Split Show Blog

LIVE AT HY-VEE IN THE CLUB ROOM AT 7:00 PM CT-Join the Indian Hills Culinary Crew for gluten-free pasta with two easy-to-make fresh sauces, and Jeffrey Elliot, author of the Zwilling J. A. Henckels Complete Book of Knife Skills:  The Essential Guide to Use, Techniques and Care gives us an introduction to the topic via Skype.  Watch a great video of Jeffrey here.

ON-THE-AIR AT 7:00 PM CT-http://kruufm.com/ is our discussion with James Beard award-winning author, Alan Tardi.  Alan talks with us about closing Follonico, his restaurant in New York City, moving to the region of Piemonte in Italy, and what it was like adjusting to a different culture.

Alan's Italian heritage and love of wine serve as entry points into his new life, and he has recounted the events of the first few years in his book, Romancing the Vine-Life, Love, and Transformation in the Vineyards of Barolo.  Now that he's spent a decade living in Piemonte, his reflections on both the viticulture and human culture make for a fascinating hour.   Check out some of Alan's articles on food, including his latest piece, Out on Lost Lagoon, here.

NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE:  GREAT TASTE IS LIVE FROM THE HY-VEE CLUB ROOM THIS WEEK, NOT FROM CARIBOU COFFEE!

We have a double dose of Italy planned on Wednesday live from the Hy-Vee Club room. 

James Beard award-winning author, Alan Tardi, joins us via Skype to discuss Piemontese cuisine, and his experiences after a decade of living in the Italian countryside.  Alan left his career as a chef in New York City, closing his fabulous Tuscan-style restaurant, Follonico, and moving to the Langhe Valley in Piemonte in 2003, a region known for its amazing grapes.

With Laurie Baumann's assistance, we'll prepare a couple of typical Piemontese delights.  Join us at 7:00 pm for a delicious and informative hour.

ON THE AIR: Get set for a jam-packed sixty minutes of Thai flavors.  Sean Hickey was our chef in-residence last week, and he turned out three sparkling dishes that wowed the live audience.

Live at Hy-Vee this week we're going to spice things up with Thai food.  Local student of culture and climates, Sean Hickey, will prepare three dishes-dry-style street noodle, chicken rice soup, and kao soy.  Gisella Isidori will visit with us, and we're going to talk about a special Italian trip coming up in June.

If you can't make it to Hy-Vee, join us on the web for our tea show with Bruce Richardson and Corey Morrow.  Bruce is a world-reknowned expert on the Camellia sinensis, while Corey brews the leaves up locally at earth and water.

It was an evening filled with knowledge, history, practical tips, and some laughter about the world of tea.  We tasted four different types of tea so if you would like to taste along with us, here's what to find (or something close) at your local tea purveyor-Silver Needle (white), Wu Yu Green Mist (green), Ti Guan Yin (oolong), and Assam Gold (assam).  Bake some scones, invite a group of friends over, (don't pre-boil the water), and experience some of the infinite aromas and tastes that come from one, that's right, one--in case you didn't know--plant.

Great Taste is live at Hy-Vee on Wednesday at 7:00 pm CT, and on the air with our previously recorded show at the same time.  The show airs this Friday at 7:00 am CT and again next Wednesday at 7:00 pm CT.  The tea show will be rebroadcast on Friday, March 8 at 2:00 pm CT. See Chai recipe by clicking "Read more" below.

Great Taste is now twice as good.  Check us out live at Hy-Vee's Club room every Wednesday at 7:00 pm when we record our weekly show.  Listen every Wednesday for the show that was recorded the previous week.  I hope that makes sense!

Wednesday LIVE-In the Hy-Vee Club room, it's tea time with one of the world's leading tea historians, Bruce Richardson, joining us via Skype, and local tea ambassador, Corey Morrow, owner of earth and water.  Tea's sordid history along with tastes of four Chinese varieties, and scones at 7:00 pm with host Steve Boss and musical interludes provided by Tom Allen.

On Air Wednesday: We had a blast last week watching Indian Hills Culinary Arts students Curt Goudy and Sara Valentine dueling and sweating in our version of "Iron Chef."  The two had to prepare a main course and dessert from items picked from Hy-Vee's shelves by three members of our studio audience.  Beets, a Spanish wine, chicken, broccoli, and a can of Caribbean rice and beans were the ingredients for the entree.  For dessert they had to use grape kombucha, cream cheese, cactus fruit, and tomatillos.   To create the appetizer course we gave the competitors $10 each to spend on whatever they could grab in 10 minutes off the grocery shelves.  Also, they could use ingredients from the "pantry," and, we were gracious enough to let them bring five items along from home.

NOTE: FOR OUR LOCAL GUESTS - A LIVE SHOW at Hy-Vee

BROADCAST AIRS ONE WEEK LATER

This week it's the final appearance for Indian Hills Culinary Arts program students Curt Goudy and Sara Valentine, who have been monthly regulars for over a year.  They are getting ready to go on their externships and graduation is lurking after those are completed.   It's a fight to the finish between the two with an "Iron Chef" culinary competition.  We'll pick the judges from our Club Room audience.  

Also, my latest observations on the dining scene after a week on the road-some surprises, and other spots that never miss.

IMPORTANT PROGRAM NOTE:  Starting this Wednesday, February 20, GREAT TASTE broadcasts will be recorded live in Hy-Vee's Club Room Wednesday nights from 7-8 pm CT and aired the following Wednesday during the same time slot (with a rebroadcast on Friday at 7:00 am CT).  This change is so KRUU can provide its listeners with a quality audio production of Great Taste each week.

It was a delicious experience being in Salt Lake City. I had excellent meals at the Copper Onion and Pago. More about those meals on the show.

I love chocolate so it was a treat to enjoy in SLC a brief Chocolate 101 session at Tony Caputo's Market and Deli. This "must" destination fine food shop downtown has its own cheese cave, an in-house salame maker, and a overwhelming number (more than 300) of cacao bean products including three types of rich chocolate drinks that should come with some type of government warning label.

The devil lurking behind these temptations is one of this week's guests, Matt Caputo. Here's how one website described him. "Matt Caputo is one of the world's most discerning connoisseur of fine chocolate bars. The award winning chocolate tasting classes he teaches at Tony Caputo's Market & Deli are highly recommended by many media outlets, chefs and even numerous international chocolate experts. His in-depth research is not limited to books and the internet, he has traveled the globe to meet and learn from the most respected chocolate makers in the world."

"It is, I feel, our apparent reluctance to recognize the interrelated nature of the problems and therefore the solutions, that lies at the heart of our predicament and certainly on our ability to determine the future of food."
— HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales

The highlight address at "The Future of Food" conference on May 4, 2011 at Georgetown University was given by HRH the Prince of Wales.  Among food activists Prince Charles is a well-known organic farmer who has advocated sustainable practices for many years.  His address, which challenged the belief that industrial agriculture and large agribusiness are necessary to feed the world's ever-growing population, was published last week by Rodale Press.  The Prince's Speech:  On the Future of Food is a rallying call to not only advocates of sustainability, but also presents a vision that recognizes "the wider and important social and economic parameters-how we can feed a global population approaching 9 billion people and still safeguard public health, keep jobs, and protect our environment."

Our guest, Robert P. Martin, Senior Policy Advisor-Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was one of the "Future of Food" event organizers.  He has been a key player in getting The Prince's Speech published so its ideas can be shared with the general public.  Please join us on Great Taste for a discussion of the critical food issues that effect every single one of us now and future generations.  You can view some excerpts from the Georgetown conference here.